{"id":916291,"date":"2025-12-04T08:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/starter-home-sales-climb-5-but-prices-are-staying-in-check-as-inventory-hits-9-year-high\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T08:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:33:10","slug":"starter-home-sales-climb-5-but-prices-are-staying-in-check-as-inventory-hits-9-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/starter-home-sales-climb-5-but-prices-are-staying-in-check-as-inventory-hits-9-year-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Starter-Home Sales Climb 5%, But Prices Are Staying in Check as Inventory Hits 9-Year High"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Starter-Home Sales Climb 5%, But Prices Are Staying in Check as Inventory Hits 9-Year High<\/b><\/p>\n

Redfin reports active listings of starter homes rose 13% year over year, pushing inventory to its highest October level since 2016<\/i><\/p>\n

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nStarter-home sales jumped 4.9% year over year in October as buyers benefited from more choices and modest price growth. That\u2019s according to a new report<\/a> from Redfin<\/a>, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. Mid-priced (+0.7%) and high-priced (+0.8%) home sales also rose from a year earlier, a notable change after a long stretch of year-over-year declines.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Housing Data By Home Price Tier (October 2025)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Redfin Home Tiers<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Home Price Percentile<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Median Sale Price<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Median Sale Price YoY<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Homes Sold YoY<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Pending Sales YoY<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Active Listings YoY<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\nStarter\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n5%-35%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n$260,000\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n2.0%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n4.9%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n5.5%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n13.0%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\nMid\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n35%-65%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n$373,249\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n1.8%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n0.7%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n1.4%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n9.5%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\nHigh\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n65%-95%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n$577,593\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n3.1%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n0.8%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n1.1%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\n8.3%\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

\nStarter-home sales have been on an upward trend for more than a year, consistently outperforming the rest of the market through 2025 as buyers shift their focus to the most affordable homes available.\n<\/p>\n

\nPending-sales data echoes this trend, with the starter tier seeing the biggest rise (+5.5%), followed by smaller increases for mid-priced (+1.4%) and high-priced (+1.1%) homes.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe starter-home market is a double-edged sword right now. Conditions are improving, with more listings and steadier prices, but many buyers are only turning to this tier because they have been priced out of higher tiers,\u201d said Redfin Head of Economic Research Chen Zhao<\/a>. \u201cThat means sales at the low end of the market are relatively strong, but it also means that first-time buyers may find themselves competing with move-up or move-down buyers.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nMortgage rates staying below 6.5% over the past few months is also helping to fuel the uptick in sales across all tiers, with mid- and high-priced homes edging into positive territory after months of year-over-year declines.\n<\/p>\n

Starter-home prices are growing at the second-slowest speed in a decade<\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe increase in starter-home sales is not causing prices to spike. The typical U.S. starter home price rose a modest 2% year over year to $260,000 in October, the second slowest growth in the past decade\u2014trailing only April 2024 (+1.8%), when mortgage rates were spiking above 7.5%.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe median price of mid- and high-priced homes rose 1.8% and 3.1% respectively, also near decade-long lows for price growth.\n<\/p>\n

A 13% surge in starter home inventory is helping to keep prices under control<\/b><\/p>\n

\nStarter-home prices are rising modestly in part because there are a lot more of them on the market. Active listings of starter homes rose 13% year over year in October, pushing inventory to its highest October level since 2016.\n<\/p>\n

\nThat\u2019s a notable shift for first-time buyers who have spent much of the past five years\u2014and especially the pandemic era\u2014competing over a limited pool of homes at the low end of the market.\n<\/p>\n

\nInventory also grew in other price tiers, but not as quickly. Active listings of mid-priced homes increased 9.5% from a year earlier to the highest October level since 2019, and high-priced homes rose 8.3% to the highest October level since 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\nNew listings of starter homes were up just 0.5% year over year, while new listings fell 1.7% in the mid-priced tier and 1.3% in the high-priced tier. That indicates that much of the overall inventory growth across the three price tiers is coming from homes lingering on the market, rather than a sudden surge of new sellers.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe typical starter home went under contract in 45 days in October, a week longer than a year earlier. Mid-priced homes followed the same pattern, also taking 45 days (+6 days year over year), while high-priced homes took 49 days (+7 days year over year).\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe slower pace of the market has really changed buyer behavior,\u201d said Andrew Vallejo<\/a>, a Redfin Premier<\/a> real estate agent in Austin. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t racing to waive contingencies or outbid ten other offers. If a starter home isn\u2019t priced perfectly, it can sit for a bit, and buyers know that. They feel more comfortable negotiating because they\u2019re not worried about losing the home in 24 hours.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Metro-Level Starter Home Highlights: October 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

\nRedfin\u2019s metro-level starter home data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Some metros are removed from time to time to ensure data accuracy. All changes noted below are year-over-year changes.\n<\/p>\n